南卡罗来纳州哥伦比亚美国总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)周一宣布任命南卡罗来纳州哥伦比亚市前市长史蒂夫·本杰明(Steve Benjamin)为首席顾问，填补了一个关键的白宫角色，该州在2024年之前对民主党至关重要选举循环。
本杰明将成为白宫接触办公室主任。官员们说，他接替了另一位前市长凯莎·兰斯·博顿斯(Keisha Lance Bottoms)，后者于6月担任这一职务，并将返回亚特兰大。
据白宫称，本杰明将监督白宫的努力，“以确保社区领袖、不同观点和新的声音有机会以包容、透明和负责任的方式通报总统的工作”。在一份新闻稿中，拜登称本杰明是一名“长期的公务员”，他“在全国的深厚关系”将很好地为政府服务。
53岁的本杰明一直被认为是民主政治中的一颗新星，他担任了三届哥伦比亚市市长，也是该市历史上第一位黑人市长。作为美国市长会议和非洲裔美国人市长协会的主席，本杰明在2016年民主党全国代表大会上发言，是当年希拉里·克林顿竞选伙伴的候选人之一。他选择不在2021年竞选第四个任期。
这一任命正值本杰明的家乡对民主党人来说变得更加重要，因为他们面临2024年的总统竞选。今年早些时候，民主党全国委员会投票决定在南卡罗来纳州举行下一轮的首次提名竞争，取代爱荷华州、新罕布什尔州和内华达州，以更深入地代表黑人选民的愿望。
在南卡罗来纳州2020年的初选中，本杰明会见了几乎所有2020年民主党白宫候选人，并在他们穿越南卡罗来纳州时提供建议，在这个州，黑人选民的支持对民主党候选人的成功至关重要。本杰明最初支持前纽约市长迈克·彭博，然后支持拜登，拜登在纽约州的初选中获得了巨大的胜利。
本杰明还在州长吉姆·霍奇斯的政府中任职，他是1998年当选南卡罗来纳州最高职位的最近一位民主党人。今年早些时候，他的妻子迪安卓·吉斯·本杰明在美国第四大法院宣誓就任法官。弗吉尼亚州里士满的巡回上诉法院，由拜登任命。
Ex-SC mayor taking over White House Office of Engagement
COLUMBIA, S.C. --President Joe Biden on Monday announced the appointment of former Columbia, South Carolina, Mayor Steve Benjamin as a top adviser, filling a key White House role from a state that has become crucial to the Democratic Party ahead of the 2024electioncycle.
Benjamin will become director of the White House Office of Engagement. He takes over from another former mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, who had assumed the role in June and is returning to Atlanta, officials said.
Benjamin will oversee White House efforts “to ensure community leaders, diverse perspectives, and new voices have the opportunity to inform the work of the President in an inclusive, transparent and responsible way,” according to the White House. In a release, Biden called Benjamin a “longtime public servant” whose “deep relationships across the country” would well serve the administration.
Benjamin, 53, has long been considered a rising star in Democratic politics, serving three terms as Columbia’s mayor, and the first Black mayor in the city's history. Serving as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and African Americans Mayors Association, Benjamin spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention and was among the candidates considered for Hillary Clinton’s running mate that year. He opted not to run for a fourth term in 2021.
The appointment comes at a time when Benjamin's home state is becoming even more critical to Democrats as they face the 2024 presidential campaign. Earlier this year, the Democratic National Committee voted to hold their first nominating contest of the next cycle in South Carolina, supplanting Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada in an effort to more deeply represent the desires of Black voters.
In South Carolina's 2020 primary, Benjamin met with nearly all of the 2020 Democratic White House hopefuls, offering advice as they wound their way through South Carolina, a state in which support from Black voters is critical to Democratic candidates' success. Benjamin initially gave his endorsement to former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg before supporting Biden, who scored a thundering win in the state's primary.
Benjamin also served in the administration of Gov. Jim Hodges, who in 1998 was the most recent Democrat elected to South Carolina's highest office. Earlier this year, his wife, DeAndrea Gist Benjamin, was sworn in as a judge on the 4th US. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, appointed to the post by Biden.
